The Family & Colonialism Research Network is thrilled to announce its first conference, ‘Imperial Relations: Families in the British Empire,’ to be held at the Institute of Historical Research, London, 5-6 September 2011.

Call for Papers

In the past decade, historians have increasingly turned to the family as a key site of imperial processes. This conference aims to bring together local and international scholars working on any aspect of British imperial family history between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. Across the British Empire, the family was a social and economic unit at the heart of life. It operated as a site of economic strategy and capital accumulation; shaped identity formation; and structured political, gendered, sexual, generational and racialised power relations. By exploring these themes, the conference aims to provoke a conversation about the multiple and complex ways in which the family operated as a critical building block that shaped, enabled, sustained and resisted colonialism in a range of geographic and temporal contexts, from British Columbia to British India. In so doing, the conference aims to facilitate deeper connections and future collaborations between historians interested in different aspects of family history, from the family economies of colonial rule to the social histories of imperial education.

To submit a proposal, please email an abstract of up to 300 words and a 1-page CV to Colonial.Families@gmail.com by Friday 22 July 2011. The numbers of papers that can be accepted is limited. Proposals from postgraduates and early career scholars are particularly welcome. If you are interested in attending and participating in the conference, registration details will be available on our website later in July.

2 Responses to Conference Announcement and Call for Papers – Imperial Relations: Families in the British Empire

Thanks for your message. We are not planning another conference right now, but certainly plan to host more events in the near future, so stay tuned. We will make an announcement here as soon as we are underway.